Peg Maloney

Alex Charfen, president of the Cerified Distressed Property Expert Program, tells us the 7 most dangerous short sale myths: 1. short sales are impossible and never get approved–MYTH 2. Banks are not accepting short sales–MYTH 3 A Borrower must be behind on payment in order to negotiate a short sale–Not necessarily so 4. Buyers are not intersted in short sales and avoid them–NOT 5. Agents can’t make money with short sales–Untrue 6. Banks would rather foreclose than bother with a short sale–Are You serious?? 7. there is not enough time to negotiate a short sale before foreclosure–Let them know you’re trying to sell and many lenders will forestall a foreclosure. Keep working at it till , as Alex says: “the gavel falls and the property is lost”. If you or anyone you know find yourself in a situation leading to foreclosure, run, do not walk, to get help from a Realtor versed in short sales. It is so worth it. Peg

As a Certified Distressed Property Expert member, I have great access to up-to-date information from the leadership. My most recent webinar noted the Mortgage Bankers Association just came out with their 3rd Quarter stats, based on 45 MILLION loans, and once you hear these you'll wonder "What the heck is 2009 going to be like?".

2.9% of all mortgages are in foreclosure

6.99% are in default (30 days or more late)

Add these two together and you have 9.96% Total mortgages in default

Wow! This is serious stuff, and of course the sub-primes continue to dominate the field (32.57% in default). VA and FHA appear to be holding off on foreclosure giving people more time to resolve their issues and sell on a short sale to avoid foreclosure.

7 out of 10 people who went into foreclosure never even tried to sell their house! We have to help these people and let them know there is an alternative known as a short sale. It's a lot of work, but worth it if the bank cooperates and gets it done. If you're not comfortable doing a short sale, find someone who is and just get 'er done!

Peg

After getting over my initial fear, here i go! For the past 20 years, starting with the Resolution Trust Corporation which bailed out banks in the 1980's, my business has grown to where now I have an abundance of foreclosed homes and short sales. Is that a bad thing? For the seller, yeah. My goal now is to keep the seller out of foreclosure mode and into short sale mode. Why? Let's talk about the 300 credit score dip with a foreclosure; a loss of security clearance if you're military; an inability to buy another home for 5-10 years; a deficiency judgement for a whole lot of money. We're not even going to discuss the embarrassment, humiliation, fear, anxiety, and total stress which affects the entire family, not just the mortgagor.

I am not a Pollyanna, but these folks are not the bad guys. Terrible times, terrible situations. If you or anyone you know is experiencing difficulty making house payments, are upside down on your mortgage, owe more on your mortgage than a buyer is wiling to pay, or are behind on your payments, let's talk short sale. Not all the lenders will agree to do it, but it's worth the shot. Lots of paperwork, lots of nailbiting, lots of long escrows,but the end result can be a big difference in your future.